Brush-type mats are well known, and are often used as doormats. They consist of a base layer of plastic into which are embedded the ends of tufts of fibrous material, portions of these tufts extending up from the base layer. Since such mats are generally used in applications where they are subjected to extremely rigorous conditions, and therefore must be capable of withstanding these conditions. Accordingly, in the past, the base layer has usually been constituted of a cured plastic having appropriate physical and chemical characteristics, usually polyvinyl chloride or comparable material, into which the lengths of the fabric material forming the tufted portion of the mat are embedded. Those plastic materials, while generally satisfactory in terms of use, have a significant drawback which has recently become relatively critical, to wit, they are not biodegradable. Since mats of the type under discussion have only a finite life and will be discarded at some time, the non-biodegradability of the plastics used in them has become a serious drawback, particularly in view of the increased consciousness on the part of the public of the need for biodegradability. Non-biodegradable curable plastics are, of course, known, but their use in mats of the type under discussion has been contra-indicated because they have not in the past produced mats of adequate physical characteristics, in particular being deficient in the strength with which the tufted lengths of fibrous materials are reliably retained within the plastic layer and the resistance of the mats to tearing or the like.